Event LAX96LA182

Factual narrative

On April 11, 1996, at 1605 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 402C, N172VB, overran runway 32 while landing at the St. Johns Industrial Airpark, St. Johns, Arizona, and collided with the terrain. The airplane was substantially damaged and the airline transport rated pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a business flight by Bank One Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from the Deer Valley Airport in Phoenix about 1500. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. The airplane was dispatched on a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan. The pilot indicated the St. Johns UNICOM operator reported the surface winds were from 260 to 280 degrees with gusty winds at 30 to 40 knots. He decided to increase his final approach speed by 15 knots to compensate for the gust spread and crosswind. He descended on final approach using the VASI system as a glide path reference. After touchdown the airplane bounced and floated, and touched down again in the middle 1/3 of the runway. The pilot was concentrating on maintaining runway alignment on the centerline and did not notice how much runway was remaining. After clearing a slight rise, he saw the departure end of the runway and realized there was insufficient runway remaining to stop or execute a go-around. The departure end of runway 32 drops off about 9.5 feet. When the airplane reached the departure end it became airborne and cleared the airport perimeter fence, which is lower than the runway, and landed in a uneven field about 80 feet from the runway end. The airplane traveled another 160 feet, at which time the nose gear collapsed. The airplane continued to move on the nose and main landing gear for another 152 feet before coming to rest. The St. Johns AWOS recorded winds 50 minutes after the accident were from 260 degrees at 33 knots gusting to 45 knots. The pilot decided to increase his final approach speed by 15 knots to compensate for the gust spread and crosswind. He descended on final approach using the VASI system as a glide path reference. After touchdown the airplane bounced and floated, and touched down again in the middle 1/3 of the 5,323-foot runway. The pilot did not notice how much runway was remaining. After clearing a slight rise, he saw the departure end of the runway and realized there was insufficient runway remaining to stop or execute a go-around. The airplane ran off the end of the runway. The AWOS recorded winds from 260 degrees at 33 knots gusting to 45 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12